Visa rebound continues
Normally as we head into the summer months we see a surge in the number of visitors to Australia, and a decline in some of the other categories (student visas in particular).
This year we got the expected surge in visitor visas...and student numbers also continued with their recovery.
There was, on the other hand, a significant drop in the number of bridging visas on issue (-166,000).
Still, overall temporary visa numbers have recovered to around their pre-pandemic highs of 2.4 million, increasing by an unprecedented +722,000 from a year earlier (and even more from their pandemic lows).
Home Affairs can barely up with the rate of temporary and permanent applications at the moment.
Total student visa numbers at 456,000 are still around 200,000 below their pre-pandemic levels, but the recent edict from China compelling Chinese students to return to Australia immediately combined with the record rate of student applications will keep up the intense pressure on the visa system over the coming months.
The return of international students combined with a slowing in consumption will serve to take the pressure off wages in 2023.
SEEK's innovative Advertised Salary Index increased +0.3 per cent in December, which was the slowest monthly result since April 2022.
Source: SEEK
Recall, that property investors are currently being hampered from entering the market, being stress-tested with an abnormally large assessment buffer, leading us into a chronic rental shortage ahead.
